You Taught Me How to Live
by AlexLD
Summary: The world is filled with tortured souls, longing for that one person to make everything okay again. But what happens when two people find sanctuary in each other, when the world around them is filled with such hate and evil? HancockxSole Survivor - Rated M for sexual content (later on), language and violence. -


The sky had just begun to clear up again, signaling the end to another radiation storm. There's always a split second of panic once the first hints of yellow/green start to cover the sky, everyone outside fumbling with their Rad-X before the radiation starts to kick in. While the others that aren't as lucky, run to find the nearest shelter to hide out in until the storm passes. Radiation storms were always seen as the dark reminder of a time that has long past, but still impacts everyone over 200 years later. They're a reminder of what shaped the world to be the way it was now. One couldn't help but think of what the world would be like if the nuclear war hadn't broken out. Some think the world would be so much more peaceful and united. Others think the world would be just as bad, just without the radiation. Blood would still be being spilled, resources would still be limited and it would still be the cold-hearted world they know.

Violet Bennett didn't care either way. What's the point in dreaming about what the world could have been? It could never be any way other than the way it is now, so dreaming is pointless. The world is a cold-hearted, hate and desperation filled hell hole. That's what she's convinced herself to think, at least. Deep down, there was that small part of her that knew that wasn't entirely true. That small part of her knew there was more to the world than just bloodshed and desperation, she knew there was kindness, warmth and acceptance as well. That part was just...not as common as the rest of the bad stuff.

Violet spent her life running from place to place, settlement to settlement, ruined building to ruined building. The only ones lucky enough to stay in one place were those who were wealthy enough to live in Diamond City. The 'Big Green Jewel' of Boston, they called it. Violet was never lucky enough to even peek inside, so she always hoped Diamond City lived up to their name. Even with her negative thoughts on the world, she still hoped that she could one day be a part of those lucky enough to live there. But with her mostly violent and sarcastic behavior, she knew she probably wouldn't last long there before getting kicked out.

But all her life, she's had that side to her. That side that craved the trouble and the danger, constantly wanting to push her luck and put her life on the line, only to come back in one piece each time. It was the way she was even as a kid. She has fond memories of being a young girl and sneaking out of wherever she was living at the time, just to sneak around and see what kind of danger lurked just miles away. Her parents would always scold her when she came back, going through the whole talk about how dangerous it is out there and how she could easily get killed or kidnapped. The talks never fazed her though. Because she knew all of that. She knew how dangerous it was and she knew very well that she could get killed by ferals or kidnapped by raiders. The only problem was, she just didn't care. Nothing could ever keep her away from the adrenaline rush she got the second raiders spot her, forcing her to run off and hide in the bushes until they give up on looking for her. That adrenaline rush is what made her continue her reckless antics. All up until she got caught though.

 _Twelve year old Violet sat perched in the bushes just a few feet away from the road, her eyes trained on the raiders on the concrete. They spotted her again. That was the second time today that she had been spotted and she was slowly starting to lose her confidence. The excited feeling she got from fleeing away from danger was slowly being replaced by the sinking fear that this could finally be it for her. If they catch her, it's over. There's no way she'd make it out alive, not even with how fast she is._

" _Where the fuck did she go?"_

" _Like hell if I know, I've seen that sneaky little bitch around before. No one knows where the fuck she goes."_

 _The group of three started to approach the wooded area she was hiding in, all three splitting up to search each part of the area. This was bad. This was_ _ **really**_ _bad. She couldn't keep her eyes on all of them anymore. Now she had to rely on her hearing to keep her from getting caught._

 _One raider was searching the bushes in front of her, shotgun held tight in his hands in case she ended up popping out. Another raider girl had moved out of her sight to the left, most likely searching the small body of radiated water a few feet away. The other moved out of her sight to the right to search what sounded like another bush close by. She was surrounded. There was no way she could flee without either getting caught or shot in the back. All she could do was hold her breath and hope they would give up and wouldn't come near her._

" _Well, what do we have 'ere?"_

 _Long blonde locks were grabbed tight in the raider's hold, followed by a sharped knife pressed against her cheek. Violet couldn't comprehend the full extent of the danger she was in. And so, a high pitched scream spilled from her chapped lips as her head shook from side to side, not even thinking about the knife pressed to her skin. However, all she gained from that was a sharp, searing pain spreading across the side of her face._

 _The raider had panicked upon hearing her scream, then being completely unable to control her thrashing movements. His first instinct was to somehow shut her up before people came looking. The knife was lifted from her cheek and came back down within a split second. But instead of cutting into her throat like he had planned, the blade instead slashed down the left side of her face, leaving a deep gash from her forehead to her jaw._

" _Let's get the fuck out of here before they start looking for us, just leave the stupid kid." The female raider ordered as she nodded towards the small town in the distance, a town that a group of settlers claimed as their settlement._

 _And just as quickly as they came, they were gone. Leaving Violet a trembling mess on the ground, her dirt covered hand pressed against the side of her face in shock. No words of disbelief were spoken, no cries of pain were spilled. She merely sat there, pale blue, tear filled eyes glued to the bush in front of her as streaks of ruby red began to trail down her arm._

A bitter smile formed on Violet's lips as the memory played through her head, a gloved hand unconsciously reaching up to rest over the left side of her face, covering the scar from years ago. It served her as a painful reminder of how reckless she had been. It caused a twinge of guilt that tugged at her heart, a small part of her knowing very well that she should have listened to her parents all along. Maybe she wouldn't be the mess that she is now if she had.

"Guess it's time to go." She uttered out the words as she shoved her bottle of Rad-X back into her bag. The heavy backpack was then slung over her left shoulder as she gathered up her pistol with her right hand, just in case. Violet soon pushed herself up from the tattered couch she had settled upon once the radiation storm had started, making her way through the piled up trash that covered the creaky wooden floors to get through the doorway and back onto the streets.

The streets were practically empty, aside from a couple birds pecking at the rotting corpse of a feral nearby. That was a good sign, hopefully she wouldn't end up running into any unnecessary distractions on her way through the city.

And so, Violet started on her journey once more, this time following the signs that she assumed pointed towards a safe town or settlement nearby that she could take a break in. More signs seemed to appear the closer she got, however one poorly written sign of the name of the place causes an airy chuckle to escape her chapped lips.

"Goodneighbor, huh? Strange name."


End file.
